EEOC Proposes to Add Pay Data to EEO-1 Reporting Form

As part of its role enforcing antidiscrimination laws, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) gathers information about workplace demographics in the United States. Employers with 100 or more employees are required to submit an annual report, called the EEO-1 report, providing information about the race, ethnicity, and gender of the company’s employees in certain job categories. At the end of last month, the EEOC announced a proposal to add pay data to the EEO-1 report, in an effort to enforce equal pay laws.

Although wage discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, and race has been outlawed for several decades, the United States still has a significant pay gap. Women continue to make around three-fourths or less of what men make in the same position. The pay gap is even wider for female employees of African American or Latino descent.

Enforcing equal pay has presented somewhat of a challenge because it’s easy for this type of discrimination to go unnoticed. Employees typically aren’t privy to what their coworkers are earning, and up until now, employers haven’t been required to report that data to any state agencies. The EEOC expects that requiring regular reporting of pay data will help regulate employers and enforce antidiscrimination laws. And, it will provide employers with an opportunity to monitor their pay practices and correct any discrepancies.

If the EEOC’s proposed change is approved, employers that are required to submit an EEO-1 report will need to include information on employees’ wages and work hours. The EEOC will be accepting comments on the proposed rule until April 1, 2016. If the rule passes, employers will need to comply with the new reporting requirement beginning in 2017.